UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA  Agricultural  ExperimentStation 

College  of  agriculture  e.  j.  wickson,  acting  director 

BERKELEY,   CALIFORNIA 


CIRCULAR  No.  21 

(July,  1906.) 


THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION. 


BY 

E.  J.  WICKSON. 


It  gives  me  pleasure  to  comply  with  your  request  to  address  you 
ou  the  subject  which  I  have  chosen  for  this  evening  because  the  order, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  has  been,  ever  since  its  organization,  more 
than  a  third  of  a  century  ago,  most  earnest  in  its  advocacy  and  most 
effective  in  its  promotion  of  Agricultural  Education,  and  much  of  the 
great  attainment  of  the  present  time  is  due  to  the  systematic  and 
energetic  work  of  the  Grange. 

It  is  a  very  interesting  fact  that  there  never  was  such  a  wide 
demand  for  agricultural  education,  research  and  experiment  as  there 
is  at  the  present  time  and  never  such  a  general  disposition  among 
civilized  nations  to  generously  provide  for  them.  The  United  States 
as  a  nation  is  a  leader  in  thise  movement,  and  in  the  volume  of  appro- 
priations for  these  purposes,  because  not  only  the  general  government 
but  all  the  states  are  generous  toward  them.  In  our  own  state  until 
recently  the  greater  emphasis  was  laid  upon  research  and  this  seemed 
fitting  in  a  state  where  natural  conditions  are  so  different  from  those 
in  other  climates  and  so  little  understood  by  people  coming  chiefly 
from  the  humid  regions  of  the  world.  All  this  work  has  laid  a  broad 
foundation  for  present  and  future  achievements  in  California  agricul- 
ture. During  the  last  few  years,  however,  there  has  arisen  a  sharp 
demand  that  the  agricultural  work  of  the  University  be  extended  and 
broadened.  Provision  which  has  been  made  for  more  adequate  outfit 
and  equipment,  with  which  the  University  could  extend  and  improve 
its  instruction  in  agricultural  practice,  has  commended  itself  to  all 
classes  of  our  population  and  at  the  same  time  has  given  California  a 
place  among  other  enterprising  states  which  are  doing  notable  things 
in  the  same  line. 


*  An  address  at  a  meeting  of  Oakland  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  in  Oak- 
land, July  7,  1906. 


What  the  States  Are  Doing.— The  total  value  of  additions  to  equip- 
ment of  the  land-grant  colleges  of  the  United  States  during  the  year 
ending'  .Tune  30,  1905,  was  $3,501,513.  The  total  number  of  these  insti- 
tutions is  sixty-five,  and  their  average  addition  to  equipment  was, 
therefore,  a  trifle  less  than  $54,000.  California's  addition  during  that 
year  was  $389,874.77,  or  about  seven  times  the  average.  The  appropri- 
ation for  the  University  Farm  and  for  the  Southern  California  Experi- 
ment Station  and  Pathological  Laboratory  enabled  California  to  set 
the  pace  in  state  provision  for  our  class  of  institutions.  This  is  the 
first  time  California  has  done  so  much  for  distinctively  agricultural 
equipment. 

Increased  Interest  in  Agricultural  Education. — The  generosity  of 
the  several  states  toward  agricultural  education,  in  adding  three  and 
one-half  millions  to  the  value  of  equipment  of  agricultural  colleges,  has 
been  brought  about  by  a  number  of  influences  affecting  the  public 
mind. 

First,  perhaps,  is  the  general  respect  which  the  nation  has  for  its 
agricultural  industry  as  progressive,  confident  and  capable  of  great 
achievement.  The  farm  products  of  the  United  States  in  1904  reached 
the  grand  value  of  five  billions  of  dollars.  Secretary  Wilson  says  the 
farm  products  for  two  years  are  greater  in  value  than  all  the  gold 
mined  in  the  world  since  Columbus  discovered  America  and  the 
products  for  1904  alone  are  three  and  one-half  times  the  value  of  all 
the  coal,  iron,  gold,  silver  and  other  mineral  products  of  the  country. 

The  second  reason  for  the  increased  interest  in  agricultural  educa- 
tion is  found  in  the  recognition  of  agriculture  as  an  art  which  can  be 
improved,  advanced  and  made  more  profitable  by  the  immediate  appli- 
cation of  new  truth  about  natural  materials  and  growth-processes,  as 
disclosed  by^  scientific  research.  Almost  all  practices  in  all  branches 
of  agriculture  are  being  rapidly  changed  and  improved  and  made 
surer  of  desirable  results.  This  is  the  contribution  of  the  agricultural 
experiment  stations  which  are  now  clearly  exerting  a  strong  influence 
upon  farm  policy  and  operation,  upon  capital  seeking  loans,  invest- 
ments or  trade,  and  upon  the  alert  public  mind  which  may  have  no 
direct  interest  either  in  farm  operation  or  investment,  but  which  is 
keen  to  perceive  and  eager  to  contemplate  whatever  is  uplifting  in  its 
tendencies  and  effective  in  advancing  national  prosperity. 

The  third  agency  for  popularization  of  agricultural  education  is 
the  resultant  of  the  two  foregoing  forces,  viz :  hunger  of  publishers  of 
both  popular  and  technical  literature  to  put  into  print  accounts  of  all 
kinds  of  agricultural  science  and  practice  and  to  exalt  them  in  the  eyes 
of  all  patrons  of  the  press.  This  a  thing  altogether  new  in  the  history 
of  literature. 

Increasing  Number  of  Agricultural  Pupils. — Naturally  while  the 
public  mind  is  being  stirred  by  such  potent  influences  its  attitude 
toward  the  desirability  of  agricultural  education  changes  rapidly  and 
the  application  for  it,  as  a  thing  worth  having,  increases.  It  is  very 
fortunate  that,  as  this  new  demand  arises,  the  agricultural  education 


which  is  now  available  is  incomparably  better  in  every  way  than  that 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago:  yes,  vastly  better  than  it  was  even  a 
decade  ago.  For  this  reason  the  new  thousands  of  pnpils,  in  the  agri- 
cultural colleges,  are  being  served  and  stimulated,  helped  and  satisfied 
as  was  never  possible  before.  This  is  a  great  delight  to  the  agricul- 
tural teacher  and  encourages  him  to  put  forth  aggressive  effort  to  still 
farther  increase  his  roll  of  pupils,  because  he  feels  that  he  has  some- 
thing which  will  not  only  make  them  better  men  and  women  but 
more  successful  producers.  This  is  the  real  reason  why  the  agricul- 
tural colleges  and  schools  are  now  so  confident,  earnest  and  active  in 
their  propaganda.  The  general  interest  in  agriculture,  as  indicated 
above,  makes  it  easy  to  secure  pupils,  in  fact  they  are  seeking  out  the 
way  for  themselves.  The  following;  shows  the  rate  at  which  attend- 
ance at  land-grant  colleges  is  growing : 

PUPILS  IN  LAND-GRANT  COLLEGES. 

1901 42,000 

1902 46,699 

1903 52,489 

1904 56,226 

1905 53,518 

This  indicates  an  average  gain  in  pupils  of  about  3,000  per  year 
for  the  whole  group  of  sixty-five  institutions  or  an  average  annual 
increase  of  forty-five  for  each  one  of  them.  The  University  of  Cali- 
fornia is  one  of  a  group  which  has  far  more  than  its  average  share 
of  increase  and  in  this  gain  the  College  of  Agriculture  has  secured 
much  more  than  its  proportion ;  in  fact  this  gain  of  the  College  of 
Agriculture  has  been  continuous  and  last  year's  attendance  of  regular 
students  was  four  times  as  large  as  in  1900  and  eight  times  as  large 
as  in  1895.  The  actual  record  is  as  follows :  1895,  17  ;  1896,  15 ;  1897, 
21;  1898,  32;  1899,  21;  1900,  31;  1901,  42;  1902,  61;  1903,  91;  1904, 
102:  1905,  106;  1906,  123. 

Of  course  the  teaching  of  123  pupils  distinctively  enrolled  in  the 
College  of  Agriculture  constitutes  only  a  part  of  our  work  because 
the  University  has  an  elective  system  which  enables  students  in  other 
colleges  of  the  University  to  elect  our  courses  as  a  part  of  the  work 
toward  their  degrees. 

Concerning  this  phase  of  our  work  President  Wheeler  in  his  last 
published  report,  1902-04,  says : 

In  comparing  the  progress  made  by  the  different  departments  in  the  past  two 
years  it  appears  that  the  department  of  Agriculture  has  made  the  most  significant 
development.  The  number  of  regular  students  of  agriculture  in  1903-04  repre- 
sents a  gain  of  75%  over  1901-02.  For  the  same  period  the  units  of  registration 
in  Agriculture  increased  from  1,584  to  2,519,  i.e.,  65%,  the  greatest  gain  of  any 
department.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  number  of  students  from  other 
colleges  taking  courses  in  Agriculture  far  exceeds  the  number  in  the  College  of 
Agriculture  itself.  During  the  past  year  the  total  number  of  students  in  agricul- 
tural classes,  including  the  short  courses,  was  415,  of  whom  278,  or  67%,  were 
from  other  colleges  than  that  of  Agriculture,  i.e.,  students  not  taking  the  full 
agricultural  course. 


During  the  last  half-year  we  had  123  distinctively  agricultural 
pupils,  but  a  total  enrollment  of  pupils  in  agricultural  subjects  of  735. 
Counting  only  once  those  who  register  in  several  classes,  the  agricul- 
tural enrollment  during  the  last  half-year  comprised  380  different  indi- 
viduals— not  counting  pupils  in  the  short  courses. 

Our  agricultural  classrooms  and  laboratories  at  Berkeley  are 
crowded  almost  to  suffocation  and  seats  are  often  placed  in  adjacent 
hallways  within  reach  of  the  voice  of  the  lecturers.  Such  a  demand 
is  inspiring  our  instructors  to  all  kinds  of  over-exertion,  for  the  popu- 
larity of  the  work  is  very  pleasing. 

Isolation  of  Agricultural  Instruction  not  Desirable. — In  view  of 
the  thronging  of  pupils  to  agricultural  colleges,  and  notably  to  those 
offering  the  broadest  and  most  advanced  courses,  it  becomes  apparent 
that  it  has  always  been  a  mistake  to  insist  that  to  promote  instruction 
in  agriculture  the  agricultural  students  should  be  isolated  from  stu- 
dents in  other  branches  of  learning.  Such  a  claim  arose  from  several 
facts  which  have  been  displaced  by  other  facts  and  from  several  notions 
which  were  either  always  wrong  or  have  become  wrong  through  the 
disappearance  of  the  facts  upon  which  they  were  based.  At  first 
students  in  agriculture  were  few ;  it  could  hardly  be  otherwise  with 
an  undertaking  which  was  new  and,  therefore,  narrowly  understood 
and  widely  distrusted.  A  common  explanation  of  the  fewness  was  that 
students  in  agriculture  were  seriously  maligned  and  ridiculed,  which 
was  never  true,  but  the  farmer  had  not  yet  found  himself  in  the  mod- 
ern scheme  of  human  vocations  and  was  disposed  to  think  that  he  was 
low  in  the  scale  and  his  son  must,  of  course,  be  discounted  by  his  fellow 
students  who  were  largely  from  what  are  called  the  professional 
classes.  Those  who  cherished  this  view  did  not  appreciate  the  demo- 
cratic spirit  of  students,  which  almost  invariably  ranks  a  man  for  what 
he  is  and  for  whatever  warranted  aspiration  he  cherishes.  The  ridicule 
of  agricultural  students  which  outsiders  found  in  the  use  of  such 
terms  as  "cow  college  men,"  etc.,  never  existed.  The  terms  are  no 
worse,  and  no  better,  than  the  epithets  which  all  groups  of  students 
apply  to  each  other,  all  of  which  are  sportive  and  convey  no  reflection 
whatever  of  social  or  intellectual  rank.  In  the  University  of  California 
agricultural  students  have  in  the  past  filled,  and  do  at  the  present 
occupy,  the  highest  places  which  the  students  create  for  their  leaders, 
and  are  never  discounted  by  their  agricultural  connection.  The  Uni- 
versity spirit  is  hostile  to  class  distinctions :  it  is  in  fact  apt  to  be  ultra 
democratic. 

The  alleged  social  reason  for  isolation  of  agricultural  students  has, 
therefore,  no  existence :  even  if  it  did  exist  the  way  to  overcome  it 
would  not  be  through  rereat,  but  through  contact  and  conflict.  The 
farmer  would  never  attain  his  proper  social  recognition  by  separating 
himself  from  men  of  other  callings  and  thus  conceding  them  some 
superiority,  but  rather  by  demonstrating  his  character  and  quality 
by  association  and  competition,  nor  can  his  son  advance  by  isolation. 

Another  notion  which  is  clearly  a  misconception,  is  that  by  isola- 
tion and  removal  from  temptation  to  other  pursuits,  young  men  can 


be  bound  down  to  agriculture.  It  is  not  true.  The  American  young- 
man  must  see  that  the  oportunity  in  agriculture  is  great  or  he  will 
quickly  leap  any  boundary  which  can  be  set  up  for  his  confinement  to 
it.  The  fact  that  in  some  of  the  leading  separate  colleges  of  agricul- 
ture and  mechanic  arts  not  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  pupils  choose 
the  agricultural  course  and  the  other  fact  that  these  institutions  are 
extending  their  curricula  by  addition  of  classical,  literary  and  other 
subjects,  prove  that  the  isolation  of  the  subject  of  agriculture  is  no 
more  desirable  than  the  isolation  of  the  students  of  agriculture. 

Specialization-  Bather  than  Isolation. — Recent  experience  clearly 
shows  that  what  is  needed  in  agricultural  education  is  not  isolation  but 
opportunity  for  specialization ;  and  specialization  means  the  extension 
and  improvement  of  instruction  and  equipment  befitting  the  nature  of 
agriculture,  so  that  the  student  may  fully  occupy  his  time  with  the 
closely  related  parts  of  his  chosen  special  subject.  This  is  true,  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  of  all  undertakings  in  agricultural  instruction 
which  are  of  University  grade;  in  courses  either  long  or  short,  and 
either  in  the  science  or  technology  of  agriculture.  Opportunity  for 
specialization,  in  the  modern  educational  use  of  the  word,  certainly 
exists  only  in  institutions  which  are  broadest  in  instruction  and  richest 
in  facilities  for  demonstration,  in  laboratories  and  libraries,  museum 
collections,  etc.,  as  well  as  farm  outfits,  growing  crops,  animals  and 
the  preparation  of  their  products,  etc.  All  these  things  are  so  closely 
knit  together  both  in  science  and  technology  that  specialization  is 
really  a  much  broader  affair  than  was  formerly  conceived  of:  we  now 
look  upon  it  as  in  a  sense  inclusive  while  but  recently  its  chief  merit 
seemed  to  be  exclusiveness,  and  its  essence  lies  in  proper  correlation  of 
subjects  rather  than  in  numerical  reduction  of  them.  Agricultural 
education  is  in  fact  approaching,  more  and  more  nearly,  the  actual 
nature  of  the  industry  which  it  both  leads  and  serves.  For  these 
reasons  agriculture  can  only  be  adequately  served  in  a  broadly 
equipped  institution  like  a  University  and,  therefore,  some  separate 
colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  are  trying  to  constitute  them- 
selves universities  as  rapidly  as  their  resources  enable  them  to  do  so. 
The  conclusion  must  be,  then,  that  the  agricultural  student,  in  courses 
which  rise  above  handicraft,  must  for  the  sake  of  his  culture,  work 
where  all  underlying  sciences  and  related  technics  are  open  to  him, 
and,  for  the  sake  of  his  manhood  and  citizenship,  must  be  developed 
and  dignified  by  contact  with  those  who  are  studying  for  other  voca- 
tions. This  is  not  merely  a  theoretical  view.  The  multitude  of  pupils 
in  our  State  Universities  who  are  now  choosing  agricultural  subjects 
shows  that  I  am  not  undertaking  to  spin  a  theory,  but  to  account  for 
an  actual  fact  in  the  present  advancement  of  agriculture. 

Pressing  Needs. — Twenty  years  ago  and  even  less,  the  greatest 
need  of  the  land-grant  colleges,  as  a  whole,  was  pupils ;  now  the  ques- 
tion is  how  can  the  pupils  be  adequately  handled.  The  pressing  needs 
are  teachers  and  equipment.  Young  men  and  women  are  being  taken 
right  from  the  commencement  stage  to  fill  positions  in  research  and 


instruction  which  should  be  occupied  by  persons  of  longer  training 
and  wider  experience.  This  condition  of  affairs  will,  of  course,  correct 
itself,  for  the  supply  is  coming  on  from  the  enlarged  numbers  now 
in  training;  it  cannot  be  cured  by  any  popular  interest  and  generosity. 
The  other  need,  that  of  adequate  accommodation  and  equipment,  is, 
as  I  have  already  indicated,  being  liberally  provided  for  and  the 
justice  of  its  claim  widely  recognized.  The  situation  and  outlook  are, 
therefore,  on  the  whole  very  encouraging.  If  those  entrusted  with 
instruction  do  their  work  well  and  make  good  use  of  their  facilities 
there  can  be  no  question  of  future  favor,  support  and  continually 
improved  equipment. 

The  University  Farm. — A  very  clear  indication  of  the  attitude  of 
the  public  mind  in  this  state  toward  agricultural  education  is  seen  in 
the  provision  of  $150,000  made  by  the  last  legislature  for  the  purchase 
and  equipment  of  a  University  Farm.  It  is  the  most  important  single 
contribution  which  the  State  has  ever  made  to  the  development  of 
agricultural  education.  It  will  supplement  all  that  has  been  accom- 
plished on  the  scientific  side  by  furnishing  splendid  opportunity  for 
instruction  in  farm  policy  and  practice  which  have  not  been  adequately 
provided  for  hitherto.  In  the  future  the  University  students  in  the 
agricultural  course  will  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  practical 
problems  of  production,  and  instruction  therein  will  be  given  con- 
creteness  and  directness.  There  will  also  be  the  fullest  attention  paid 
to  the  short  courses  in  the  various  branches  of  farming  which  will 
enable  both  old  and  young  to  devote  themselves  for  a  few  weeks  or 
months  to  studies  of  the  best  and  most  profitable  ways  to  handle  plants 
and  animals  and  to  satisfy  themselves  that  these  advanced  ways  are 
best  because  they  embody  the  latest  science  involved  in  each  operation 
and  because  the  quality  and  market  value  of  the  product  demonstrate 
its  economic  superiority.  The  instruction  on  the  farm  will  neither 
duplicate  the  instruction  or  the  equipment  at  Berkeley.  At  Berkeley 
the  work  will  be  chiefly  analytical — the  taking  of  things  to  pieces  to 
learn  the  character  and  relations  of  the  parts.  At  the  farm  the  work 
will  be,  in  a  sense,  chiefly  synthetical — the  connection  of  the  parts,  the 
building  up  of  the  highest  orders  of  finished  products.  It  is  an  impor- 
tant fact  that  this  synthetic  process,  this  selection  of  the  best  factors 
of  a  result  and  rejection  of  all  that  tends  toward  inferiority,  involves 
at  the  same  time  the  highest  and  the  lowest  forms  of  agricultural 
instruction  and  the  same  illustrative  and  demonstrative  outfit  is 
required  for  both  purposes.  The  short  course  man  receives  didactic 
lessons  and  demonstrations  which  he  may  imitate ;  the  long  course  man 
takes  his  lessons  in  a  suggestive  way  and  sees  in  the  demonstrations 
the  application  of  his  previous  theoretical  training.  In  both  cases  the 
instruction  is  practical  and  each  takes  from  it  according  to  his  needs. 
The  splendid  animal  stands  forth  to  one  student  as  the  embodiment 
of  the  principles  of  breeding  and  all  the  practical  value  that  breeding 
science  signifies;  to  another  student  he  is  mainly  a  model  of  form 
as  exhibiting  feeding  or  dairy  quality  to  be  rendered  practically  useful 
mainly  through  imitation.    The  same  is  true  of  trees,  vines,  field  crops. 


buildings  and  other  items  of  the  University  Farm  equipment.  Tt  will 
all  serve  for  instruction  in  the  highest  lines  of  agricultural  technology 
and  for  the  plainest  lessons  in  the  best  way  to  do  things  under  Cali- 
fornia conditions.  In  this  way  the  University  Farm  will  serve  all 
classes  of  students,  both  young-  and  old,  and  will  afford  each,  according 
to  his  needs,  instruction  which  no  other  State  institution  provides.  It 
will  not  duplicate,  nor  be  a  substitute  for,  high  school  or  college,  but 
will  be  supplementary  to  all  institutions  which  undertake  to  associate 
agriculture  in  any  form  with  other  educational  subjects.  There  is  a 
grand  opportunity  in  California  to  equip  and  use  the  University  Farm 
along  synthetic  lines  both  in  the  nature  of  its  instruction  and  in  its 
relations  to  other  institutions  of  the  State. 

The  Kearney  Bequest. — The  princely  bequest  of  the  late  M.  Theo- 
dore Kearney  of  Fresno,  providing  an  endowment,  which  may  have 
a  value  of  something  like  a  million  dollars,  for  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  agricultural  instruction  and  research  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  gives  striking*  emphasis  to  the  biblical  declaration  that 
to  him  who  hath  shall  be  given.  California  by  a  third  of  a  century 
of  fitting  generosity  toward  agriculture,  culminating  in  the  provision 
of  the  University  Farm,  has  demonstrated  the  possession  of  a  public 
sentiment  which  leads  patriotic  citizens  to  assist  the  State  toward  the 
more  speedy  attainment  of  that  which  is  recognized  as  the  most  potent 
agency  for  the  promotion  of  prosperity  and  success  among  our  citizens 
during  the  coming  generations.  It  is  not  the  having  but  the  conceded 
right  to  have,  which  wins  the  gifts ;  in  this  case  it  is  the  spirit  which 
multiplies  the  gold,  not  the  mere  tendency  of  the  gold  to  congregate. 
It  is  bright,  untarnished  gold  which  accumulates  in  this  way,  and 
its  future  accomplishments  will  be  blessed.  It  is  too  soon  to  undertake 
any  outline  of  what  should  be  done  with  this  new  endowment  when 
it  becomes  available.  That  will  require  careful  consideration  in  con- 
nection with  the  informal  wishes  of  the  donor.  It  is  sufficient  at  the 
moment  to  say  that  ample  opportunity  exists  for  its  wise  and  effective 
use  for  the  promotion  of  the  industry  to  which  the  donor  enthusias- 
tically gave  his  most  diligent  efforts  and  succeeded  so  well.  There  is 
no  present  danger  of  too  much  money  being  available  for  research  and 
instruction  in  agriculture  in  such  a  State  as  California,  where  popula- 
tion may  be  multiplied  ten  or  twenty  fold  without  approaching  density 
and  whose  capacity  and  variety  of  production  is  hardly  yet  descried. 
The  great  San  Joaquin  Valley,  where  Kearney  was  a  pioneer  in  under- 
takings which  have  commanded  the  attention  of  the  world  and  in  the 
development  of  products  which  have  reversed  the  old  courses  of  the 
world's  commerce,  has  hardly  entered  upon  the  greatness  of  her  future. 
In  that  future  there  will  be  the  fullest  scope  for  the  wisest  employment 
of  the  best  agencies  for  agricultural  education  and  research  which  his 
devoted  gift  can  create  and  maintain. 

University  Extension  Work  in  Agriculture. — But  all  this  activity 
at  established  seats  of  learning,  old  and  new,  is  only  a  portion  of  their 
effective  work.  The  University  of  California,  like  other  institutions, 
is  pursuing  extension  efforts  with  notable  results.     Extension  work, 


8 

with  its  Farmers'  Institutes,  Short  Courses  and  Reading  Courses,  is 
regarded,  by  those  familiar  with  it,  as  one  of  the  greatest  awakening 
agencies  which  has  thus  far  been  invoked  for  agricultural  advance- 
ment and  enlightenment.  It  has  an  inward  movement,  improving  agri- 
culture by  direct  dissemination  of  knowledge  of  great  practical  impor- 
tance and  by  suggestion  of  how  to  observe  to  attain  truth  from  one's 
own  experiences.  It  has  a  strong  outward  movement  toward  securing 
for  agriculture  the  manifold  advantage  of  the  introduction  of  the 
elements  of  sciences  underlying  agriculture  into  the  curricula  of  rural 
schools.  University  Extension  in  Agriculture  is  the  great  promotive 
propaganda  for  the  development  of  the  industry  and  for  awakening 
of  all  interested  in  it  to  the  feasibility  and  importance  of  education 
not  only  for  the  farm  but  towards  the  farm.  It  is  a  most  valuable 
method  of  bringing  to  thousands  some  knowledge  of  scientific  research 
and  of  advanced  practice  which  never  would  have  been  available  to 
them  in  more  systematic  and  protracted  courses. 

The  University  at  Large  in  the  State. — The  activities  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  California  are  widely  distributed  throughout  the  State  and 
the  newer  acquisitions  of  the  agricultural  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity will  enable  it  to  administer  more  intelligently  to  local  needs.  Not 
less  significant  than  those  outposts  which  have  been  discussed,  is  the 
provision  made  by  the  last  legislature  for  Southern  California  by  the 
establishment  of  a  branch  experiment  station  at  Riverside  and  a  labor- 
atory of  plant  diseases  at  Whittier.  These  important  undertakings 
are  now  being  planned  and  equipped  for  active  work.  The  University 
of  California  is,  and  should  be,  at  home  everywhere  in  the  State.  It 
should  not  be  centralized.  It  should  do  everything  it  can  do  for  the 
people  in  the  place  where  each  thing  can  be  best  done  and  thus  demon- 
strate its  appreciation  of  the  generous  support  which  it  receives  from 
the  State. 


